Dublin residents are being warned to keep their eyes peeled for a scam artist posing as a house-to-house beggar.
The woman scammer, who is said to be a small lady in her 50s with brown hair, is carrying out cold calls on houses in the Templeogue area in search of pocketing your hard earned cash.
The frail-looking fraudster poses with a brown walking stick, knocking on the south Dublin doors asking for "any money you can spare".
But once she gets out of sight, she has been spotted ditching the act and walking stick, running away and hopping into a car once she's snatched the dough.
A warning text sent around to locals warned them not to be so generous to random callers personally turning up at their home.
It said: "This lady turned up to several houses with a grey face mask and a brown walking stick.
"She was knocking on doors asking for a few bob. I think she’s been doing the rounds before.
"She was then spotted getting into a grey car parked nearby with someone inside waiting for her."
It added: "She walked past it first, stood still for a while and then quickly walked back.
"By this stage she wasn't using the stick and was no longer walking slowly like before. She popped the stick into the back of the car and it drove off."
Speaking about a similar scam that took place earlier this year, a spokesman for the Gardai advised people to do the following before handing over money to a charity or anyone else.
"No genuine business or charity will mind you carrying out your own enquiries or calling An Garda Síochána.
"If a person calls to your door offering you professional trade services, selling goods or collecting for a charity and you are worried they are not bona fide, tell the caller that you never deal with people who ‘cold call’ to your door.
"Ask for a brochure or documentation so you can carry out checks and verify their credibility.
"We always want to hear if there are people in the area who may be offering goods or services that are not genuine so don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call us."
